The present invention relates in general to painting implements useful for the application of paints, stains, solvents and other priming or finishing liquids, and more particularly to roller covers for use with paint rollers and the like, wherein the roller covers partially or wholly comprise non-woven materials. The roller covers of this invention are useful for painting a variety of surfaces, including walls, ceilings, and floors of various compositions and textures. These roller covers also exhibit certain desirable characteristics, such as the ability to absorb or otherwise capture the paint or other material to be applied from a reservoir of liquid (typically a roller tray), the ability to retain suitable amounts of such material as the roller is moved from such reservoir to a point near the surface to be painted or otherwise coated, and the ability to release the material being applied as the roller rotates while in contact with surface to be coated.
Commercially available paint roller covers are typically designed for attachment to a substantially cylindrical rotating cage or frame and are usually manufactured in predetermined sizes and lengths. Furthermore, the material from which the roller cover is constructed is often impervious to the liquids to be applied and can usually be cleaned after a single use so that at least one re-use of the roller cover is possible. Roller cover material is typically manufactured in varying densities and thickness, i.e., pile, so as to be suitable for the specific fluid characteristics of the paint or other material being used and for the nature of the surface to be coated or otherwise treated. For obvious reasons, any tendency of roller cover material to shed or deposit, during application, small fibers or threads from the exterior portion of the paint roller onto the surface being coated is highly undesirable.
Prior art paint rollers are usually made of one or more knitted fabrics that are constructed by twisting thousands of fibers into strands that are then knitted or otherwise attached to a backing material. Certain other roller covers are made from woven materials fabricated on looms and then attached to a backing layer of one type or another. Both knitted and woven fabrics have the tendency to shed to varying degrees depending on the depth and density of the fabric, the characteristics of the coating material being applied, and the character of the surface being coated. Moreover, the manufacture of knitted and woven materials is often labor-intensive, thereby resulting in higher overall costs and reduced profitability. Thus, the composition of roller covers and the methods of manufacture associated therewith, both impact the ability to make quality roller covers at affordable prices. Ideally, paint roller covers are inexpensive and reusable so as to be accessible either by the professional or the layperson using such products. Thus, there is a need for an alternate roller cover material that does not shed, that can be used to make roller covers quickly and inexpensively, and that meets other predetermined or pre-identified quality criteria and characteristics.